Are any of you feeling like you have hit the pandemic wall? Like, “Enough is enough already! I’m done!” Yeah, I get that. Some days are better than others, right? A year is a long time to be locked down like this, and it’s not over yet. It’s as if we are in a very long race that we didn’t sign up for! How can we get past this “pandemic wall,” and get to the finish line?

If we “hit the wall” in a race, it’s as if the body is saying, “I have nothing more to give.” It’s depleted and reaching the finish line seems implausible. But in a pandemic, many things are different. We don’t know the where the finish line is, and that seems unfair, maybe even cruel. Perhaps we should stop looking for the finish line? Instead of looking out toward the end of this “race,” maybe it’s best if we begin to look in at us.

“Hitting the wall” is the body saying, “Slow down, please! Take care of me!” If I was in a race with no readily apparent finish line and I hit the wall, I would sit down on the curb. I might take off my shoes for a bit. I would reach for a protein bar and a water bottle. I might even lay down in the grass until I felt better. There is no winning this race, right? We just need to finish, so taking care of the only vessel God gave us to get across the finish line is what we need to do. We need to slow down. We need to take care of ourselves. Sit next to me on the curb. We can listen to some good 80’s music on Spotify and recharge our batteries. It’s time.

With Gratitude,

Beth